Mandalla Monastery
The Mandalla Monastery is one of the oldest institutions on the western continent, dating back almost 1,000 years before the appearance of the sea creatures that split the world in two. Currently, Mandalla swears fealty to Brelyria, though this agreement is largely symbolic, as Brelyria largely stays out of Mandalla's business. Life in the Monastery Students come to Mandalla at a young age, and from a variety of sources. Most are the children of poor Brelyrian families that risk the dangerous journey and initiation trials in hope of securing a better life for their young children. Some are the offspring of once noble Brelyrian houses. A few of the students are orphans, often taken in after a cataclysmic event, such as the Hobgoblin Wars. Students go through rigorous training of what the monks call the central tenants of existence, being Mind (knowlege / growth), body (strength / valor), and soul (wisdom / compassion). These concepts are emphasized during the Spring, Summer, and Autumnal quarters (respectively), with special emphasis on balance during the winter. The Rites At the beginning of each quarter, students that have received special permission can complete The Rites-- a series of trials that determines whether or not they will be fully initiated into the monastery. Students must chose one Rite per year that they are allowed to attempt. No student past the age of 20 may qualify for the rites. A student that fails to become an initiate may either leave the monastery, or become a laborer for the fully initiated, generally learning a trade in one of the larger cities in greater Brelyria and returning once their training is complete. Rites generally reflect the respective tenant of existence: Spring rites involve solving complex problems and puzzles in a labrinth; Summer Rites require trial by combat against a student of Brelyria's Holy Order; Autumnal Rites require a wilderness sojourn in the surrounding mountains, generally to retrieve a stone or flower from one of the surrounding peaks; winter initiations are an individualized blend of all three, though the details are often kept secret. Initiation Once a student completes their initiation, they are sorted into the respective group, being: # Initiate of the Spring Bloom # Initiate of the Summer Winds # Initiate of the Autumnal Moon # Initiate of the Winter Snowfall These initiates live and work together, focussing on their respective tenant. All initiates are expected to complete their training by the age of 30, at which point they will be sent through an individualized trial quest together. The outcome of this trial determines who will be able to rise the level of Master. This requires leadership, as well as an understanding of balance. Once at the Master level, Initiates generally concern themselves academic study and educating younger initiates. Some Masters are sent on special tasks for the Monastery, often to recover lore or protect the innocent, though the monastery has fallen out of this practice in recent centuries. They continue learning from grandmasters, however, discovering new ways that each tenant may interact with each other. Some Master's knowlege become so great they are eventually elevated to one of the Monastery's seven Grand Masters. These Grand Master's hold most of the Mandalla Lore and magical secrets, though these secrets are only known to the Grand Masters. These seven spend most of their time in leadership roles, determining the overall direction of the Monastery, securing resources, and determining who will be allowed to learn at the monastery. Many centuries ago, Mandalla Grandmasters new the secrets of elemental manipulation, which were passed down orally from one generation to the next. These secrets were lost with the last Sage, who gave her life in the Dragonborn battle against Gratzt, the Demon Prince. However, some Spring Initiate Scholars have conjectured that one of the previous sages was cast out of the order for copying the secrets down in a book. While some of these scholars suggest that the book was probably destroyed with the rest of his possessions when he was cast out, others believe that he was able to take it and squirrel it away in a lair deep within the Demon Mountains to the North. No party has been able to recover this volume, and most believe it is just a myth.